Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

[is thin possible?]

Ok guys! I have done a search under "hair loss" on the board and read several things about hair loss. I am feeling more comfortable now that I have read several of the posts that this is normal and that several people have experienced it. However, I am still a bit freaked out that the hair loss won't stop before I am actually noticeably bald! Please, can anyone answer as to whether or not this hair loss thing can get to that point? I mean really, I feel like everytime I wash my hair and blow dry gobs and gobs more hair are on the floor. HELP!

Oh yeah! And refresh me again as to how long I can expect this to go on before I recover?

Thanks in advance for all of your advice. This one has me on edge!

[Finelly]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

LOL, I panicked too, the first time it happened. If you've read the posts, you know that this is a normal phenomenon after a body trauma. "Body trauma" is not as bad as it sounds, as it includes moving to a completely different climate or losing a fair amount of weight.

For me, the hair loss lasted several weeks. I have very thick hair, but I was truly worried that I was going to have bald patches. However, when I got my hair cut, I spoke to the beautician about it. She commented that a lot of hair was in the sink when she washed it, but reassured me, saying it was not as much as I thought it was, and that it would not make me bald.

She was right. My hair was fine, and it all grew back, but honestly, nobody noticed that it had been gone in the first place!

Just make sure you are taking the appropriate supplements. And by the way, if you take flax seed meal, it helps your hair stay really shiny and healthy!

[diamond girl]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

I'm sorry I can't give you a solution to your problem, but I wanted to share my experience.
I started noticing considerable hair loss 4 months after starting this WOL. It got really bad for awhile, two handfuls a day, but has now started to slow down. (Thank God I have thick hair)
I don't believe that my hair loss is entirely from this WOE because I experienced a tramatic event around the same time.
If you don't have particularly oily hair, try waiting a day or two between shampooing. And use a gentle shampoo.
Best of luck to you. Just like our body size, hair is important to our self-esteem.

[FightingTheFight]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

All of us atkineers are bald and thin

[is thin possible?]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

Thanks for the input and the reassurance that I will not go completely bald!Ha! Ha! You guys are the greatest!

[lbrowne]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

I just posted on a thread about this last night. What worked for me was a jojoba oil scalp massage, followed up by regular use of jojoba shampoo (I used JASON Naturals from Vitaminshop.com and later on Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Special Shampoo that has jojoba in it) PLUS started taking a 1500 mg biotin twice a day. The jojoba removes sebum build-up from the scalp, which can contribute to hair loss.

Search for other supplements that might help also. Things that help the hair and skin and also that help process fat into energy.

....and be sure to have your thyroid checked, just to be sure that's not what's causing the problem.

I had mine done, but I made an appt at the same time I started researching and had more ideas on what to try than my doctor did. I was really glad I did the thyroid test, though! If you're hospital sponsors a health clinic you might be able to have it done at a lower cost through that.

~ Linda

[is thin possible?]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

Thanks for info. Linda! Very helpful!!!

[lbrowne]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

You're welcome. I hope it helps! It may take some time, but in my case I stopped losing hair within a week and a month later I could see some actual regrowth accuring - easiest to tell as a fringe along the hairline, but also less scalp showing through from the glare of the overhead light in the bathroom.

I hope this or something else in these threads help, but if they don't and your thyroid is ruled out, keep posting and searching.

~ Linda

[is thin possible?]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

Hey Linda! Thanks for throwing in the time frame of how long you lost the hair and what to look for upon the return of new hairs! I went and checked in the mirror and I do have some regrowth occuring along the hairline on my forhead! YEAHHH! Maybe I won't be bald after all! I assume this means that I am adding re-growth throughout my scalp and the loss is slowing down? Whadda you think?

Oh! And I have had my thyroid checked and it is "A-OK!" Thanks for mentioning that also in case I hadn't covered that base!

Thanks again for the input!

Blessings!

[lbrowne]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

Yep, I'd assume there's regrowth all over if you can see it on the hairline! As for the loss slowing down, that's harder to gage. I could be wrong, but they seem to be two seperate things to me. That's were the jojoba scalp massage and shampoos came into play. I had been 'shedding' for several years but had thought it was natural until it started getting a lot worse and I finally realized how thin my hair was on top. Suddenly I freaked out and went looking for answers. It literally completely stopped falling out in less than a week of starting with the jojoba. I started with the biotin supplement about the same time.

There are several other vitamins/supplements that are recommended also. I didn't find those at the time and don't remember which ones they are. Check the thread in the women's forum, I believe some of them are mentioned there.

Congrats on seeing that regrowth coming in!!

~ Linda

[fawn]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

And as Linda pointed out the biotin really does help

[is thin possible?]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

Thanks again guys! (Oops! Gals!) I went out to the health food store today and bought me some biotin. Started taking it tonight. I also picked up a good multi-vitamin. I know, I know! I should have been on one already according to DANDR, but I let my bottle run out and kept forgetting to pick them up while I was out on errands! That may have caused a few of my problems also!

Have a good one!

[MissMel]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

I have had hair loss before...it was substantial. I lost a a 2 inch width from ear to ear on the back of my head and in other spots it was a dime to nickel size. This is a condition called Alopecia and there isn't really any treatment except time and if after 6 mos it doesn't regrow or get better then a trip to a Dermatologist is warranted.

The causes from what I have been told are unknown but is linked to Depression, anxiety and stress...all of which I was suffering from after the birth of my 4th child. Luckily after 8 mos my hair was totally grown back...but oddly enough one side grew back wavy lol and the other was straight like the rest of my head. When I had the hair loss nobody knew unless I pulled my hair up for them to see..I had longer thicker hair then.

It is REALLY disturbing when it happens and when it first happened I chalked it up to post natal stuff...its totally common to lose hair while pg or after pregnancy. It was a beautician who actually told me what was going on and from their I went directly to my Dr. in tears mind you...she told me to just relax ..but how can you relax when you feel like you are going bald. lol

If you begin to notice bald spots and you are growing more wary just have a visit with your Dr. to confirm and maybe they can suggest ways to help you.

[lbrowne]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

Hi Melissa,

Having your hair fall out like that must have been stressful. It's good to hear it's all grown back, if even with new temperment!

There is no standard treatment for different types of hair loss, but working on diet, meditation or other stress relief, added nutrients, plenty of water and other possible options can sometimes help. When I talked with my doctor about what I was doing, and he could see the results, he hadn't been aware of the possiblity of biotin and jojoba oil helping. He was happy to see it work with me though, and was going to pass it along to another patient that was having the same problem. A hairdresser I know said a lot of people do well with the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special shampoo, the other info I found online and was lucky enough to have it work for me.

Some of types of hair loss do have to run their course, but trying extra things may hasten along the regrowth or shorten the time of the losses.

~ Linda

[ttdriver]

Re: Hair Loss! Help! Please tell me it will stop before I am bald!

You may also want to have your thyroid levels checked .. they can be affected by weight loss .. if you are hypothyroid, hair loss is a side effect. My hair thinned ALOT when I had Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) and after having my thyroid removed, now I am hypothyroid. My hair is still thin, but I'm not losing alot of it now that my thyroid levels are normal again (thanks to meds).

I take Biotin for my hair which makes it grow like crazy .. so its thin, but it grows like 1-2 inches a month so I'm happy!

Betty